


Bomb Scare

by smarshtastic



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Bombs, Injury Recovery, M/M, Mission Fic, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 18:05:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11583399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smarshtastic/pseuds/smarshtastic
Summary: Jesse trails off as he gets a good look at the storage room. He realizes what’s causing the interference now: an enormous bomb in the middle of the otherwise empty room. A timer on the side of the bomb ticks down ominously.---On a routine weapon clean up mission for Blackwatch, Jesse and Stef Valdez run into a bigger problem than they planned for.





	Bomb Scare

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fabrega](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabrega/gifts).



> It's Day #1: Missions/Weapons of [Blackwatch Week](https://blackwatchweek.tumblr.com/)! I've got at least five or six fics lined up for the rest of the week, so I hope you guys check out the [twitter](https://twitter.com/blackwatchweek) and [tumblr](https://blackwatchweek.tumblr.com/) to see all the fanworks folks are going to be posting. I'm super pumped! 
> 
> Big thanks to [fabrega](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabrega/) for getting through a veritable [PILE of comments](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFW2-nZVYAAn4Te.jpg) in a short amount of time. She's the actual best ♥ 
> 
> You can find my on [tumblr](http://wictorwictor.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/smarshtastic)! Come say hi!

Jesse stands back as Valdez breaks down the door to the back of the warehouse. He keeps a sharp eye out, gun drawn. Even though the warehouse is located on the remote end of the dockyards, there’s no excuse to let his guard down. Valdez makes easy work of the security system. The door swings open without any alarms. 

“We’re in,” Valdez says into the comms. 

“Good work. Stick to the perimeter of the warehouse - our target is in the north corner,” Gabe says. He’s stayed behind at the base to supervise this operation remotely, trusting Jesse and Valdez to run the mission on their own. 

“We have a lock on your position,” Edwards adds. Jesse and Valdez exchange a look and nod to each other. 

“Roger that,” Jesse says. “We’re moving in.”

“Watch your backs,” Gabe says into Jesse’s ear. It’s always comforting to know that Gabe is keeping an eye on them. Jesse falls in step next to Valdez, gun raised, moving quietly into the warehouse. 

It’s a standard operation for Blackwatch: reports of a weapons cache came in from the UN Security Council’s terrorist monitoring division, and Blackwatch was sent in to investigate. If weapons are found, it’s their job to dispose of them as quickly, safely and quietly as possible. It’s that last bit that’s the hardest; usually, weapons disposal isn’t exactly a quiet affair. Still, it’s about as usual as a day can be in Blackwatch. The whole team has the procedure down rote, and it never takes more than two of them to run these sorts of operations these days. It means they can cover more ground more efficiently: one group at the base monitoring operations, while a few pairs are out in the field. Weapons cleanup is always a kind of nice break from the higher octane, more intense missions they’ve been put on more and more lately; a nice sense of accomplishment when it's not always clear whether they've won. 

Jesse checks a corner before Valdez steps around it. The warehouse is quiet - it should be deserted, if Edwards’ monitoring is correct (it almost always is) - but there’s no reason for them not to be abundantly cautious. If they get lazy, they get sloppy, and someone will get hurt. Blackwatch can’t afford the casualties, and Jesse doesn’t exactly love spending time in the infirmary. 

“Second door on your left,” Edwards says over the comms. 

“Roger,” Valdez says. Jesse hangs back while she takes care of the door again. It swings inwards and Jesse hears Edwards swear over the comm before chaos erupts in front of him. 

There’s several thugs - Jesse manages to count eight before they start opening fire - inside the room. Valdez ducks behind the door again, letting Jesse squeeze off a handful of shots as she tries to pull the door closed. 

“Hostiles -” Jesse says into the comm, flattening his back against the wall just outside the room. He looks down at Valdez, who’s crouching at his feet. “Okay?”

“Fine,” she says, face set and serious. “Ready?”

Jesse nods once. He kicks the door back open and squeezes off another few shots. Valdez rises to her feet at his side, firing her own gun into the cluster of thugs. Three of the eight men go down immediately, the remaining hostiles diving for cover so that they can return fire. Jesse drags Valdez down behind a sofa. He taps his cheek under his left eye. She shakes her head just once. 

“Save it,” she says. Valdez pops back up and fires two shots over the edge of the sofa. Jesse hears the thud of another body. He unhooks a flashbang from his belt and lobs it over the sofa. He ducks down, tugging Valdez further down with him. The grenade goes off and they both stand to finish the job, the last thugs falling to the floor. 

“Everything okay?” Gabe’s voice asks over the comms. Jesse and Valdez exchange a look; no injuries, and barely out of breath. Easy. 

“Yes sir,” Valdez says. “Eight hostiles down.”

“Edwards, do you have a read on -” Jesse starts to ask. The building’s power surges all of a sudden; the lights flaring bright then flickering out before stabilizing again. 

“What was that?” Valdez asks. Over their comms, they get static. She looks at Jesse, face serious. “We might be on our own.”

“That’s alright,” Jesse says, holstering his gun as he picks his way around the bodies. One by one, he confirms that they’re all dead. It’s not the most pleasant part of his job, but Jesse has come to accept it - even if he wasn’t exactly expecting casualties on this mission. He straightens and looks at Stef. “We’ve done this on our own before.”

“Usually not blind,” she points out. Jesse shrugs. 

“We did our homework,” he says. “We’ll make it work.”

“We’re gonna have to.”

Valdez nods. She moves to a desk and starts opening drawers. Jesse takes a file cabinet. They know what they’re looking for, even if they don’t have Gabe or Edwards in their ear; both of them reviewed the mission parameters religiously before they were deployed. They should be able to find a key in this office and then they can make their way to the storage facility within the building. Valdez opens drawers methodically, working from the bottom up. Jesse runs his hand along the bottom of a drawer in the file cabinet. 

“I’m pretty sure…” he starts to say, then his fingers trip over a tiny latch in the bottom of the drawer. He grins, pleased with himself, as he tugs on the latch and the bottom of the drawer slides back. “False bottom.”

Jesse’s fingers close around the key - a square of circuitry that looks more like a chip than an old fashioned key. He holds it up to Stef. 

“Nice,” she says, nodding. “Fits the description.”

“You find anything interesting?” Jesse asks, coming over to the desk. He tosses the key back and forth between his hands. She gives him a severe look, which Jesse responds to with a grin. He pockets the key for safe keeping anyway. 

“Nothing we haven’t already seen before,” she says, gesturing to the papers strewn over the desk. “At least our intel was up to date.”

“We’re good like that,” Jesse says. He taps on his ear piece a little. “Edwards? Boss? Can you hear us?”

After a pause, Valdez shakes her head. “All I’m getting is static.”

“Me too,” he says. He pats the chest pocket with the chip. “Well, we might as well get moving.”

The two of them step out of the office and back into the hallway, redrawing their weapons. The corridor is clear as far as Jesse can tell. It’s quiet. They make their way along the hallway according to plan, walking in step with each other. Jesse appreciates Valdez’s cool-headedness; she’s always the most professional on missions regardless of the assignment. They’re not paired together frequently any more these days, which is a shame. Jesse feels safer knowing Stef has his back. The building’s power surges again. They pause and exchange a look. 

“McCree? Valdez?” Gabe’s voice comes through the comms, scratchy and distant - but it’s there. 

“We read you, boss,” Jesse says. Even though it’s not his first rodeo, it’s a relief to have Gabe in his ear again. It's never fun running a mission blind, even ones like this that feel like muscle memory. “Good to hear your voice.”

Beside him, Stef rolls her eyes. Jesse grins at her. 

“What’s your status?”

“Took care of the hostiles - we have the key and we’re en route to the storage facility,” Valdez says. 

“I’m reading a massive power surge in the building,” Gabe says. “It’s probably what knocked our comms out.”

“Any idea what caused it?” Jesse asked. 

“Working on it,” Edwards says. He might say something else, but the comms cut out again briefly.

“...careful, okay?” Gabe says. Valdez looks at Jesse. 

“We read you,” Jesse says. “No need to worry, boss.”

Valdez rolls her eyes again but steps ahead of Jesse to check the corner before they move into the big open space of the warehouse. There’s no cover to speak of. They knew this was coming but it doesn’t make it any less difficult. This is probably the most dangerous part of their mission; if there are more hostiles in the building, fighting in the open warehouse is the last thing they want to do. 

“Edwards, anything?” Valdez asks, voice low. 

“Can’t get a read,” Edwards says, the frustration clear in his tone. “Eyes up.”

Valdez looks back at Jesse. “Stay close, then. We’ll move fast.”

Back to back and weapons drawn, Jesse and Valdez move into the wide open floor of the main warehouse. They get halfway across the room when hostiles appear at the far side of the room and open fire. 

“Hostiles!” Valdez calls out. Jesse can hear Edwards swearing in his ear again as he and Valdez scramble away from the center of the room. There’s a few support columns they can use as cover if only they can get there. He feels a bullet whiz by his ear and another graze his arm. He tucks and rolls as he gets to the edge of the room. 

Jesse grits his teeth. If he can concentrate, he can get Deadeye off - it would be enough to get them out of trouble. From behind a thin metal support beam, Jesse focuses as hard as he can, fingers tight around his gun. It doesn't feel good to force it, but he doesn't have the luxury of time today. Everything slows down, the noise of the skirmish sounding farther and farther away. Targets light up in his field of vision. Jesse exhales and squeezes the trigger. 

Six shots ring out and Jesse stumbles forward, the time and noise catching up with him all of a sudden in a cacophony of overstimulation. His head is spinning but he has to keep going; he reloads his gun and wheels around to find Valdez. His heart skips a beat when he sees her on the ground. 

“Stef -” Jesse lunges forward, skidding to a stop at her side. “Stef - you okay?”

Valdez pushes herself up with difficulty, clutching at her right shoulder and gritting her teeth. “It’s only a flesh wound,” she says, even though there’s a lot of blood seeping into the uniform around her fingers. “You’re bleeding.”

“Would you look at that?” Jesse says, swiping at the trickle of blood around his nose. “It worked, though.”

“Told you you should’ve saved it,” Valdez says. 

“Eh -” Jesse waves a hand. He helps her up - she doesn’t even protest, which is how Jesse knows she’s more hurt than she’s willing to let on. It’s hard for both of them - Jesse’s head is still spinning from the aftermath of Deadeye, and Stef’s hurt shoulder is making her move slower than she usually does. He taps his earpiece. “Gabe? Edwards?”

“Static,” Valdez says, shaking her head. Jesse huffs a breath out.

“We’re nearly there, might as well finish the job,” he says. Valdez nods through her grimace. 

“Let’s keep moving then,” she says. She straightens on her own, slipping from Jesse’s steadying arm. He holds a hand out to her but she doesn’t take it. Her fingers of her left hand are pressing into her shoulder again. 

“You okay?”

“I’ll be fine. You?”

“Fine. Let’s move.”

Jesse and Valdez move on unsteady feet through the rest of the open warehouse, stepping between bodies and keeping an ear out for any more hostiles. 

“I thought this place was supposed to be deserted,” Valdez says when they finally get to the other side of the warehouse. 

“That’s what the intel said,” Jesse says. He lets Valdez step ahead of him; his head is swimming and his vision is still trying to resolve itself. Two versions of Valdez wobble in and out of his line of sight. 

“Gonna have words with Edwards,” Valdez grumbles. “Can you get this door? I can’t use my shoulder.”

Jesse kicks the door down and sways on the spot. Valdez reaches out to steady him. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks, her field medic training suddenly rearing its head. She peers at him suspiciously but Jesse waves it off.  

“You know how it goes,” Jesse says dismissively. “We’re almost through here.”

“Uh huh,” Valdez says. “At least give me a heads up before you pass out.”

“I’ll do my best,” Jesse says. 

They keep moving. Another power surge makes the building rattle, but it at least has the benefit of making the comms come back online again.

“Jesse?” Gabe’s voice says into his ear. Jesse smiles in spite of himself.

“Hey. How’s it goin’?” Jesse asks. He hears Gabe huff out a breath, almost a laugh, definitely relieved. 

“What’s your status?” Gabe asks. 

“Took out some more hostiles, we’re both injured but we’re still okay,” Jesse says, glancing at Valdez. She looks pale, but she nods. “It ain’t so bad.”

“En route to the storage location,” Valdez says.

“We lost your signal,” Gabe says. “There’s too much interference coming off the building to get a good lock.”

“Any idea what the interference is?” Jesse asks.

“Working on it,” Edwards says, a little frustration coming into his voice again. Jesse catches Stef rolling her eyes, and grins. “Likely an auxiliary security system.”

“We have the Newtons on standby for extraction,” Gabe says. “We’ll do our best to keep the comms up.”

“Keep us posted, then,” Jesse says. “Looks like we’ve found our target.”

“Stay safe,” Gabe says. 

“Don’t worry,” Jesse says, trying the door handle. He slips the key in the locking mechanism, but it still doesn’t budge. The power surge probably took out the lock too. He takes a deep breath and kicks the door down, and only wobbles a little bit this time. “We’re professionals.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Gabe says dryly. 

“Stef’s keeping an eye on me,” Jesse says. He glances at Valdez - she’s looking increasingly worse for wear. “She’s gonna…”

Jesse trails off as he gets a good look at the storage room. He realizes what’s causing the interference now: an enormous bomb in the middle of the otherwise empty room. A timer on the side of the bomb ticks down ominously. 

“Jesse? Jesse, did we lose you?” Gabe says as the silence drags on. Jesse shakes himself. 

“No - I’m here. I think we found what’s causing all that interference,” he says. At his side, Valdez hasn’t moved. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“If you’re seeing one very large bomb, then yeah,” Valdez says. 

“Get out of there,” Gabe says immediately, the notorious Blackwatch commander tone coming back into his voice. “Right now.”

“I dunno if that’s an option,” Jesse says, eyes on their feet. Valdez sinks down slowly, checking the square of metal they're standing on; it doesn't match the rest of the floor. She runs her fingers along the edge then looks back up and nods to Jesse - pressure plate. He follows a wire with his eyes to the timer on the bomb. 5:27. 

“We can’t outrun this one,” Valdez says. Jesse chews on his lip. 

“Edwards and I will work on disabling it remotely, just don’t move,” Gabe says. 

“I don’t think that’s going to work, Gabe,” Jesse says. “We don't have a lot of time.”

“Five minutes fifteen seconds,” Valdez says. 

“We’re working on it, Jesse,” Gabe says, an edge to his voice. 

“I think I can disable it,” Jesse says. He looks down at Stef, who’s keeping all her weight on the pressure plate.  

“Don’t be rash,” Gabe says. 

“I ain’t. This looks like something Deadlock slapped together,” Jesse says. He takes a step forward and doesn’t explode. “I’ve done stuff like this before.”

Not immediately after firing off a Deadeye, not while he’s bleeding from bullet grazes - but the past experience should count for something. 

There’s a long pause on the comms. “Gabe?”

“Do you think you can do this?” Gabe asks, voice unquestionably serious. 

“Yeah, I can,” Jesse replies, just as serious. There’s another long pause before he hears Gabe exhale. 

“Alright. Tell me what you see - I’ll walk you through it,” Gabe says. Jesse circles the device, steps careful and slow, doing his best to force his vision to focus. Gabe doesn't need to know he's shaky on his feet or seeing double - Jesse doesn't need another set of nerves in his ear. He already has Stef watching him like a hawk. 

“It definitely looks like something we would've cooked up in Deadlock,” Jesse says. There's a thick power cord running from one wall to the device; too thick to tear through with his field knife, and probably reinforced or boobytrapped but probably both. It explains the power surges, at least. Crude, but effective. “I dunno if you're gonna get anything remotely.”

“That's okay,” Gabe says. He's keeping his voice even and calm like he does for the new recruits; cool and professional. Jesse knows better, but he's not about to pick at him. “Any guesses as to how big we're talking here?”

“Big enough to hurt,” Jesse says. He crouches down to try to get a look at the underside of the device. “Could probably blow up a big chunk of this side of building, depending on what else is around.”

Jesse hears Gabe let out a shaky breath. He glances over at Valdez. She reaches up and mutes her comm.

“Can you do this?” she asks seriously. She's tilting to the side, her fatigues stained dark with her own blood. “Can you even see?”

“I'm fine,” Jesse says, for her benefit and Gabe’s. He looks back at the bomb. 4:35. “So, before I start snipping wires -”

“Do  _ not _ cut anything until I tell you,” Gabe says sharply. 

“I know how this goes,” Jesse says. “This isn't my first rodeo. Deadlock, remember? This used to be practically a regular Tuesday for me.”

“This isn't Deadlock. We're taking this slow. You said there was a timer?”

“That's right. Hooked up to what looks like an ignition switch. There's a backup in case we just yank the timer,” Jesse says, following the wires with trembling fingers. He shakes out his hand, willing his body to get over the Deadeye hangover. 

“Don't do that.”

“I'm not. I'm just telling you what I see,” Jesse says. 4:17. He remembers, suddenly, a training exercise where none of them were informed it was a training exercise: the team was in imminent danger, time was running out, it was up to Jesse to save them. And he did - heart thumping high in his chest and the fear of being dumped out of Blackwatch and into prison still a fresh threat. Once he found out it had all been a training exercise, Jesse was pissed. The relief and victory felt hollow. 

This, however, feels entirely different. 

3:58. 

“Backup first, then,” Gabe says into Jesse’s ear. Jesse’s fingers are already following the tangle of wires. 

“Uh huh,” Jesse says, trying to concentrate. His normally nimble fingers feel thick and clumsy. He sets his tongue between his teeth, summoning every bit of control he has to steady his hands. He holds his breath and twists the backup connection free. 

“Jesse?”

“I got it,” Jesse says. 3:33. “I'm taking out the main timer.”

“Do you have eyes on the ignition?”

“Yeah,” Jesse says. He's avoiding it; it's tiny and fiddly and complicated. “Hooked right into a power supply.”

“Do that first,” Gabe says. Jesse closes his eyes briefly. 

“I think I can get the timer first,” Jesse says. “I already got the backup.”

“The ignition,” Gabe says again. Jesse swallows and draws in a breath. 

“Fine.”

Jesse holds his breath again, bringing his face down close to the mess of wires purposefully concocted to make diffusing the bomb as difficult as possible. He remembers learning the techniques in Deadlock - this isn't much different. He just has to figure out the creator’s signature. Ignition, blasting cap. Jesse follows the tangled wires as best he can, imagining someone like him making a desperate attempt at putting some distance between him and a faceless, nameless enemy. His fingers stumble over the blasting cap and follow a circuitous path to a crude ignition. Jesse stops, taking a breath to steady himself. His heart is pounding in his throat. He glances at the timer. 2:51. He pulls the ignition wiring free and goes for the blasting cap in one motion. 

The timer starts ticking down alarmingly fast. 

“Gabe?” Jesse says, working as quickly as he can to disengage the power supply. 

“What? What is it?”

“I tripped something,” Jesse says. His voice comes out even and steady even though his heart is racing. 

“That's okay - you got the ignition, right?”

The timer hits zero. The power surges as Jesse yanks the wires out of position. He falls back as electricity sizzles through his nerves. He loses consciousness, but he's pretty sure he doesn't hear anything explode. 

=-=-=

Jesse wakes, head pounding horribly. His whole body aches. He turns his head with difficulty; he's still on the floor of the storage room. 

“Jesse?” Stef asks. Jesse blinks. 

“Hey. We didn't explode?” he asks. He starts pushing himself up into a seated position and finds his metal left arm won’t move - a dead weight. It hurts, pulling on his shoulder. “How long was I out?”

“A few minutes?” Stef says, shaking her head. “Can I get up without blowing us up?”

“Oh. Yeah,” Jesse says. He presses the heels of his flesh palm against his eyes, trying to soothe the sharp ache to no avail. “Sorry.”

“Don't apologize to me,” Stef says. She stands and wobbles - she's still very pale, her fatigues bloodstained. He reaches out to steady her but misses. “You managed to make sure we didn't explode.”

“Yeah,” Jesse says. He's having a hard time getting his eyes to cooperate and his head is spinning. “Guess we should head to extraction.”

“Comms are out,” Stef says. Jesse grimaces, trying to remember what the last thing he said to Gabe was. 

“Let's get moving, then,” he says.

“You okay?” she asks, looking at him critically. Jesse shrugs with one shoulder. 

“You’re the one who lost a lot of blood.”

“I didn’t get electrocuted,” Stef points out. She’s eyeing his left arm that hangs uselessly at his side. Jesse huffs a breath out. 

“Alright, so we’re basically equal. Now can we get moving?”

They lean on each other as they make their way out of the warehouse. Blessedly, somehow, they don’t run into anyone on the way out. It’s slow going. Jesse’s balance is off and Stef is weak, so it takes them longer than it should to get to their extraction point. They find Wake and Tack Newton suiting up for field work. 

“Hey,” Jesse says when he and Stef are within earshot. Wake’s head shoots up and then she bolts over to Jesse and Stef. 

“You guys are okay!” Wake says, practically throwing her arms around Jesse’s waist. He winces as she hugs him close. 

“Yeah, more or less,” Jesse says. 

“We didn't hear an explosion, but Reyes was worried,” Tack says when he makes it over to his teammates, slower than his sister. He looks Stef over. “We should head back. Medical’s on alert.”

“Great,” Stef says, already starting to the shuttle. Tack slips an arm under her shoulder carefully. Wake finally lets Jesse go. 

“Come on - you're all singed. What happened? Reyes said the comms cut out,” Wake says, tugging Jesse along to the shuttle and practically shoving him inside behind Valdez and Tack. 

“There was a bomb,” Jesse says. He sinks gratefully into a seat behind the pilots’ seats. 

“Jesse disabled it,” Valdez says. She already has her fatigues around her waist, pressing a wad of gauze against her injured shoulder. 

“Woah,” Wake says appreciatively. She slides into one of the pilots’ seats and flicks on the comms. “Reyes, Wake Newton reporting in. We've got Stef and Jesse right here. We're coming home.”

Wake listens for a moment then twists on her seat to give Jesse a sly smile. 

“Commander Reyes wants to talk to you,” she says. “There's a spare comm there.”

Tack hands Jesse the spare comm as he moves into the other pilot’s seat. Jesse pulls the fried ear piece out of his ear. 

“McCree reporting,” Jesse says. He hears Gabe exhale on the other side of the line. “Sorry about that.”

“What happened?”

“Power surge as I was disabling the blasting caps,” Jesse says. “Knocked me out. We're hurt - but we're okay.”

There's a long pause. “Get back here,” Gabe says, voice going a little rough, a little harsh. Jesse half-smiles. The adrenaline is rapidly leaving his system and he's really starting to feel the aches and pains and exhaustion. 

“On our way,” Jesse says. “You'll have Doc Z waiting for us, right?”

“Of course. Just - get back here.”

Wake and Tack take the shuttle up through the clouds. 

“Don't worry,” Jesse says, his own voice going softer and slouching back in his seat. “Nearly there.”

=-=-=

Dr. Ziegler is waiting for the shuttle when it lands. Wake and Tack help Jesse and Stef out of the shuttle, Wake keeping up a steady stream of chatter even though neither Jesse nor Stef are really listening. The day’s events have caught up with Jesse; what felt only like a series of aches earlier now feels acutely painful. His left arm still won’t move and he’s having problems focusing with his left eye. The post-Deadeye hangover is worse than usual - maybe worse than it’s ever been - so Jesse wobbles on his feet as he walks out into the hangar. Suddenly, Gabe is right there, sliding an arm around his waist and taking most of his weight into his arms. Wake slips away to help her brother with Stef. Jesse offers Gabe a woozy smile. 

“Hey,” Jesse says, voice low and quiet. “Told you I was okay.”

“You look like hell,” Gabe says, squeezing him gently, mindful of Jesse’s bumps and bruises. 

“Doc Z will fix me right up,” Jesse replies. 

“Still.”

Jesse smiles a little wider, leaning into Gabe’s strong arms. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Let’s get you cleaned up.”

It’s a whirlwind of exams, lots of poking and prodding. Dr. Ziegler declares that the tiny circuits in Jesse’s arm are badly fried and that she’ll have to replace some of the parts. She takes the prosthetic for the repairs and Jesse feels immediately lighter. He falls asleep under the biotic field, grateful for the relief. 

Gabe is still there when Jesse finally wakes up, hours later and well into the night. Jesse’s left eye is still bothering him, but it's more of a dull ache now. He squints at Gabe. 

“Hey,” he says, wiping a hand over his eyes. “How's Stef?”

“Good,” Gabe says. “All patched up.”

“Good,” Jesse says. He shifts a little on the bed. Gabe watches his movements. 

“How are you feeling?” Gabe asks. 

“Better - sore as hell, but,” Jesse shrugs. He rubs at the end of his left arm a little self-consciously. “The biotics help.”

Gabe catches Jesse’s right hand and laces their fingers together as he brings his hand up to his mouth. He presses a warm kiss to the back of Jesse’s hand. 

“I thought the worst,” Gabe says quietly. Jesse sits up a little better so he can tug Gabe in. 

“Sorry,” Jesse says when he finally gets Gabe close enough so he can rest his head against his shoulder. Gabe breathes out. 

“Sometimes I wish I didn't have to keep putting you in danger,” Gabe says. Jesse picks up his head. 

“It's what we do,” he says. “And we're good at it. If you didn't send me out there, hell, I'd probably find my own trouble. I'll always come back to you, Gabe.”

Gabe leans in and kisses Jesse softly, sweetly. He pulls away, just enough to rest his forehead against Jesse’s. 

“I know,” Gabe says. 

“You're allowed to worry, though,” Jesse says, nudging Gabe’s nose with his own. “I'll allow it.”

Gabe cracks a smile. He ducks his head. Jesse slips a hand under his chin and tilts his head back up so that Jesse can look him in the eye. 

“Hey,” he says. “I couldn't have done it without you.”

“Yes you could have,” Gabe objects. Jesse kisses him. 

“Shh,” Jesse says. “Let me have this.”

Gabe snorts and lets Jesse kiss him again, then again, and again, before he finally pulls away. 

“Angela’s going to wonder about your vitals,” Gabe says, color in his cheeks. “You're supposed to be resting.”

“I escaped being blown up today,” Jesse says. “I deserve a little celebration.”

Gabe rolls his eyes, but is smiling. Jesse shifts over on the bed, patting the newly vacated space. 

“C’mere,” he says. “I'll rest better this way.”

Gabe climbs up onto the narrow hospital bed and settles back, pulling Jesse into his arms and against his chest. Jesse settles in easily; they shouldn't fit on the bed like this, but they've had plenty of practice. Something about that makes something ache in Jesse’s chest. Still, at the end of the day, if they end up in each other's arms, it can't be all that bad. 


End file.
